Dash-cam footage captures poor driver behaviour on county’s roads

Officers from Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Roads Team have compiled a fresh batch of video clips to highlight more examples of poor driver behaviour captured on the county’s roads.

The short video has been created using some of the dash-cam footage which has led to prosecutions, having been recorded by drivers and cyclists and submitted via the Operation Snap portal on the Force’s website.

Between October and December last year, the Force received 326 Operation Snap video submissions from a total of 202 individual witnesses, resulting in 180 Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) letters being sent to registered vehicle owners.

Driving without due care and attention continues to be the most common offence detected with a total of 106 registered owners sent NIP letters, while a further 31 drivers failed to comply with red traffic lights.

The four drivers featured in this video were prosecuted for driving a motor vehicle dangerously, driving without reasonable consideration to other road users, driving while not in proper control of a vehicle and driving without due care and attention.

The driver who overtook on solid white lines and driving towards oncoming traffic, received a suspended 12-week custodial sentence, disqualified from driving for 24 months, required to pass an extended driving test, complete a community order, and pay £213 costs.

The motorist filmed using a mobile phone whilst behind the wheel received three points on their licence and fined £100 after being prosecuted for driving while not in proper control of a vehicle.

The taxi driver who pulled in front of another vehicle and brake checked them several times also received three points on their licence and fined £100 for driving without due care and attention.

Finally, the motorist who passed a cyclist at a very close distance was required to complete an education course after he was found to be driving without reasonable consideration to other road users.

However, not all the footage submitted via Operation Snap, results in prosecution and for the same three-month period, 12 drivers received warning letters advising them of the manner of their driving.

Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Roads Operations Manager, Matthew O’Connell, said: “As a Force, we continue to be committed to reducing the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on our roads.

“Through the use of Operation Snap, we have thousands of additional pairs of eyes helping us to keep our roads safer and thanks to the public’s support we are able to take action against driving offences we otherwise wouldn’t see.

“As a result of this, the chances of getting caught committing traffic offences have increased, which can only be a good thing, and we hope this serves as an incentive for everyone to use our roads more safely.”

People can report driving offences by uploading video evidence via a simple online portal on the Force website and completing a form, which automatically creates a witness statement to provide a full account of the incident.

Reports are then triaged by trained police staff, who check the footage to ensure it falls within the scheme's remit and contains clear views of an offender’s number plates so they can be identified.

If it matches the Operation Snap criteria, police officers in the Safer Roads Team then examine the footage. If a driving offence is identified, legal proceedings will begin where required.

The team only has 14 days to investigate any offences and members of the public are asked to submit their videos as soon after the incident as possible to allow the maximum time for the footage to be reviewed.

Anyone who submits footage via Operation Snap can find out the outcome of their submission by following the link on their confirmation email which will take them to a monthly update.

For more information about Operation Snap or to submit video footage, visit the Northamptonshire Police website at www.northants.police.uk/OpSnap